1. Bibliography
Krakauer, Jon. 1996. Into the Wild. Anchor Books: New York. ISBN 0-385-48680-4.
2. Summary
This is the unbelievable story of Chris McCandless. He came from a very well to do family. He was well educated and had the whole world in front of him. However, when he graduated from college, he sold everything he had, gave all of his money to charity, and left on a cross country trip to live as a rambler. He traveled all across the midwest and western seaboard. He met many people along the way that were living like he was. He told them his name was Alex. He lived for several months, moving from place to place, taking odd jobs when he needed the money, but never staying in one place too long. His ultimate destination was to go to Alaska and live in the wilderness alone. He finally made it to Alaska, but it was his final destination. His body was found in an old bus that had been used as a hunting retreat for people. No one could understand what happened to him or how he ended up like this. The author retraced his steps, talking to people that had crossed Alex's path, hoping to get a better understanding of why this educated man would want to live this way.
3. Impressions
I thought this book was very interesting. Why would someone that had there whole life ahead of them and had a seemingly good life give up everything and take on the life of a drifter? He gave up everything, even his money. He lived alone and didn't make many connections with people. He nearly starved to death many times before he ever made it to Alaska. What could his family have done to alienate him so? The book was intriguing, but I must say that I had a hard time reading this book. It had so much information in that it made the book a very slow read. I can read almost anything and I didn't want to finish this book. I could only read it in small spurts. I can only imagine how a young adult would read this. I only finished it because the story was interesting. The writing style was not great. I don't think that many teens today would understand or connect with Alex. Teens today would never consider giving up everything and heading out to live off of the land. I don't think that they would like this novel much. The style is too textbook to really interest them. I would have to say that this was my least favorite book that I have read in a while.
4. Reviews
4. Reviews
Reviews taken from http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0307387178/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
From Library Journal In April 1992, 23-year-old Chris McCandless hiked into the Alaska bush to "live off the land." Four months later, hunters found his emaciated corpse in an abandoned Fairbanks city bus, along with five rolls of film, an SOS note, and a diary written in a field guide to edible plants. Cut off from civilization, McCandless had starved to death. The young man's gruesome demise made headlines and haunted Outside magazine contributing editor Krakauer, who saw "vague, unsettling parallels" between McCandless's life and his own. Expanding on his 1993 Outside article, Krakauer traces McCandless's last two years; after his graduation from Emory University, McCandless abandoned his middle-class family, identity, and possessions in favor of the life of "Alexander Supertramp," wandering the American West in search of "raw, transcendent experience." In trying to understand McCandless's behavior and the appeal that risky activities hold for young men, Krakauer examines his own adventurous youth. However, he never satisfactorily answers the question of whether McCandless was a noble, if misguided, idealist or a reckless narcissist who brought pain to his family. For popular outdoor and adventure collections.--Wilda Williams, "Library Journal" Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Publishers Weekly After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska, where he went to live in the wilderness. Four months later, he turned up dead. His diary, letters and two notes found at a remote campsite tell of his desperate effort to survive, apparently stranded by an injury and slowly starving. They also reflect the posturing of a confused young man, raised in affluent Annandale, Va., who self-consciously adopted a Tolstoyan renunciation of wealth and return to nature. Krakauer, a contributing editor to Outside and Men's Journal, retraces McCandless's ill-fated antagonism toward his father, Walt, an eminent aerospace engineer. Krakauer also draws parallels to his own reckless youthful exploit in 1977 when he climbed Devils Thumb, a mountain on the Alaska-British Columbia border, partly as a symbolic act of rebellion against his autocratic father. In a moving narrative, Krakauer probes the mystery of McCandless's death, which he attributes to logistical blunders and to accidental poisoning from eating toxic seed pods. Maps. 35,000 first printing; author tour. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc
